Field of the Invention
This invention relates to print shop management solutions, and in particular, it relates to a system and method for efficient managing and routing of print jobs in a print shop by use of a customized algorithm analyzing print job complexities.
Description of Related Art
In an environment that processes a large number of print jobs with multiple printers, there has been a need to manage print jobs efficiently in an organized fashion. Examples of such an environment are professional print shops and print/copy departments at large organizations, where a variety of print requests, such as large-volume duplication and large document printing, needs to be processed and completed by utilizing multiple printers within a short turn-around time. These environments are collectively referred to as “print shops” in this application.
Typically, each print job specifies a source file that electrically contains a document to be printed, such as an image-based PDF file, and a specification file (e.g., a JDF file) containing various settings, functions or parameters for the job, for example, the size, color and the type of the paper on which the document should be printed, the printing resolution, duplex or single-side printing, and certain finishing conditions, such as book, staple, collate printing, etc. The complexity of each print job may vary a lot, depending on its specific job settings, and sometimes, many other factors particular to the print shop receiving and processing the print job. Some print jobs can be very simple staple or fold finishing applications, while others can comprise a complex mix of “N-Up,” “Binding,” “Per Page Setting,” “Folding,” “Duplex” and many other operations.
When the print shop accumulates a large database of electronic print jobs with very different degrees of complexities, how to achieve an efficient processing turnaround requires careful consideration. On one hand, a printer needs to support all specific job settings of each print job. On the other hand, every printer in the print shop should also have a steady stream of jobs so that work can be done most efficiently and no printer is left in the waiting or idle mode.
Currently, the common practice in a print shop is, a print operator or print shop administrator would review the database of print jobs, which can be an application for storing all the print jobs in a queue and displaying them in a user-accessible GUI, or any other similar system in which multiple print jobs can be displayed, reviewed and sent to a printer. When there are multiple jobs, the print operator may still need to assign a job to the correct printer through a manual process. Typically, the print operator would open each print job and review the specific job settings (e.g., “Job Ticket”) before sending the job to the correct printer. Some existing applications provide automated processing modules, which, when activated, can read print jobs and send them to the correct printers that support their settings. However, this option is rather limited and only suits those print jobs with simple settings. In the case of multiple jobs that exceed the capabilities of automated processing modules, some jobs would fail and thus, remain in the queue until they are manually reviewed and routed for further processing.
In light of the above, a need exists for an improved print shop solution that can analyze the job complexities of all print jobs. Another need also exists to enhance existing automated processing modules so that they can route and process print jobs more efficiently.